1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a watch comprising a watch case constructed in one piece and equipped with a glass sealed to the watch case, a cap covering said watch at least partially and a wristlet comprising two half wristlets secured to either side of the watch case by means of spindles about which the half wristlets can pivot.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
There have been many proposals for a watch or a watch case for a wrist watch covered by a cap.
Swiss patent No. CH-A-558 040 describes a case for a watch comprising a protective cap in an extra hard material. In this construction the cap is held in place by perpendicular screws to the plane of the case, passing through the caseband bezel and engaging in tapped blocks disposed under the cap. Here the cap presents a rather complicated cross section due to the presence of the tapped blocks. The bezel of the case band has to be executed in a special shape in order to be adapted to the cap superimposed thereon.
Swiss patent No. CH-A-517 963 (U.S. Pat. No. 3 242 664) describes a case for a watch covered by a metal carbide cap made of an annular part encircling the glass and two diametrically opposed lugs covering the fixing horns of a wristlet. The annular part and the lugs are brazed to the case and the horns respectively. This construction calls for a special tool for securing the cap to the case of the watch and it will be noted that once the cap is secured, the latter cannot be dismantled, at least not using simple tools.
The watch case described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,298 contains an electronic module for showing the time. This watch case comprises a back, a resilient part interposed between the back and the module, and a cover. Resilient thin bars engaged in the edges of the back retain the module in the back of the case. The same thin bars serve to secure the cover to the back. The wristlet is secured to the watch case by means of raised lugs in the back. This construction is complicated and requires several bent and shaped pieces. The cover does not constitute a cap as such, but is rather a constituent part of the case.
Document No. DE-C-1 099 773 describes an interchangeable bezel adapted to a wrist watch. Here, the bezel is held in place on the watch with the aid of a wristlet constructed in one piece. The wristlet penetrates a first aperture formed in the bezel, then passes between a first thin bar carried by a first pair of horns of the case of the watch and the case band of the latter, extends along the back of the watch case, passes again between a second thin bar carried by a second pair of horns of the case of the watch and the case band of said case and emerges from the bezel via a second aperture formed in said bezel. In this construction the thin bars do not serve to attach the bezel to the case. Moreover, the proposed construction is complicated and heavy and considerably modifies the appearance of the original case of the watch.
Document No. FR-A-1 092 554 proposes in particular a clasp for a one-piece wristlet, said clasp being combined with the case of the watch. The case of the watch is pivotally mounted with respect to the bezel frame by means of a hinge, said hinge in no way serving to attach the wristlet to the watch case.
Finally, the timepiece described in document No. FR-A-2 329 002 has a bezel type which constitutes an integral part of the watch case of the watch and contributes to its being well sealed and not an interchangeable cap fitting a case made in one piece as in the present invention.